After a death in Ireland

How to tell the Department of Social Protection about a death

What is needed, who to contact, and what happens next.

How to tell them

Post a letter to the section that paid the benefit (for a State Pension, the Pension Section), or bring it to your local Intreo Centre. Do this in the first few days if the person was receiving a payment.

Payments made after the date of death must be repaid. A spouse or partner may get six weeks of the payment.

They will ask for the PPS number of the person who died.

Step by step

  1. Do this in the first few days if the person was receiving a payment.
  2. Post a letter to the section that paid the benefit, or bring it to your Intreo Centre with a death certificate or newspaper death notice.
  3. Payments made after the date of death must be repaid; do not spend one that lands.
  4. A surviving spouse or partner may get six weeks of the payment and should apply for the Bereaved Partner's Pension (form BPP1).

Contact details

Phone
0818 927 999 (general); 0818 200 400 (Bereaved Partner's Pension section)
Also
Bereaved Partner's Pension application form (BPP1), for a surviving spouse or partner
Official guidance
citizensinformation.ie

Others you may need to tell

Everyone to tell after a death in Ireland

Checked against the official information on 28 October 2026. Processes change, so check with them if anything looks different. LegacySteps is independent and is not connected to any of the organisations listed.